Beaches and Bathtubs
by snowbalini
Summary: Min Yoongi had never believed in mermaids and magical creatures until Namjoon brings a small boy with a fish-like tail back to the lab.
1. An Unexpected Arrival

Yoongi followed Namjoon down the steps into the lab. Namjoon said he had finally found something incredible. The marine biologist assumed it must be a new species of fish, or maybe an ocean floor invertebrate. They had been doing research on deep sea creatures in the Yellow Sea and Korean Straight. Namjoon had just come back from a week-long research trip and was incredibly excited to show Yoongi the specimen he had found. As they pushed the door to the laboratory, Yoongi could see Taehyung, their research assistant staring in awe. "Hyungs, … I…Wow." Taehyung gaped in compete amazement of something in a large tank. Yoongi was unable to immediately see what was in the giant cylindrical tank as all the lights were off. Strange Yoongi thought. Small LED lights were turned on and Yoongi stopped dead in his tracks, he was facing the most incredible sight he had ever seen. "I found him tangled up in some old fishing line while I was tracking jellyfish." Namjoon explained. "I wasn't sure what to do at first but I think it's definitely worth studding him."

"Ha!" Taehyung declared "I always knew mermaids were real, I just knew it" and after a moment of thought added "and of course mermen." "Merpeople." "What do we call him?"

"why don't you just ask him?" Both heads turned to stare at Yoongi. He had a point, they should at least see if the merman could understand Korean. Yoongi cautiously approached the tank where the merman was curled up, resting on the floor. "Hello, my name is Min Yoongi." "Can you understand what I'm saying?"

The three scientists waited in absolute silence before seeing a small nod of confirmation from the merman. Slowly unfolding himself, the merman swam towards the middle of the centre of the tank so his eyes sat at the same level as theirs. Yoongi was pretty sure he stopped breathing for a few seconds. The merman, or more accurately merboy was beautiful. He had long slanted eyes slightly red from crying and the softest looking lips Yoongi had ever seen. His silver hair swirled around him, creating a halo of sorts. Pale skin melted into deep blue scales creating the most incredible tail Yoongi had ever seen and he has seen some of the most colourful fish the ocean had to offer. In the soft glow of the light he looked ethereal and Yoongi was captivated.

"min." Heads snapped up and eyes widened. Had the merboy spoken. Namjoon gently asked if the small boy would repeat himself.

"My n-name is Jimin." He quietly stuttered out, glancing around. "Where am I?"

They all stared in shock before realising the merboy was becoming increasingly distressed and looked to be on the edge of having a panic attack.

"AHHH SO CUTE" Taehyung squealed. Jimin immediately recoiled in shock from the sudden declaration. "Yah keep your voice down, can't you see he's terrified" Yoongi scolded. Taehyung muttered a quiet 'sorry hyung' before Namjoon decided to try and talk to Jimin to ease his fear.

"Hi, my name is Kim Namjoon, I found you tangled in fishing line not far from the coast. You weren't conscious I think the rope around your neck may have stopped your oxygen supply, it was covering your gills."

It was only then Yoongi noticed the small slits present on the side of his neck. It was a strange sight to behold, the gills looked almost out of place on the otherwise human looking torso and head.

"I wasn't sure what to do so I brought you back to the lab. The loud one with badly dyed blonde hair is Kim Taehyung our research assistant."

"Ouch Hyung." He was actually pretty proud of his hair, his best friend Jungkook even told him it looked cool.

"And next to me is my lab partner Min Yoongi." Namjoon continued, "We promise not to hurt you, we're marine biologists, researches." Jimin slowly nodded his head slowly indicating he understood, and his shoulders even relaxed a little. "If it's okay with you, would be able to examine and maybe observe you." At the mention of examine, Jimin immediately began to start panicking trying to flatten himself against the back wall of the enclosure to create as much distance as possible. Namjoon quickly tried to explain to Jimin that it would all be non-evasive and anything Jimin wasn't comfortable with they wouldn't do. "Hey Jimin, do you like to swim?"

Yoongi snorted. "Obviously Taehyung, he is from the ocean after all"

"Well, do you like walking hyung"

"You know damn well I don't you brat"

"Exactly." Taehyung retorted

Yoongi narrowed his eyes and glared at the smug man, but Taehyung just laughed. Yoongi could feel Jimins eyes on him, watching as the two bickered in amusement. "Anyway" Yoongi started as he cleared his throat, "He can't stay here that tank is way too small, he can hardly move. Not to mention everyone else will be back Monday and if that many people see him he will end up on display in a museum."

Namjoon thought for a moment. He was extraordinarily intelligent and had managed to make a considerable sum of money working for various organisations before opening his own lab. " I could probably get a sort of ocean pool constructed at my place, indoors of course, but until then he'll have to stay with one of you."

Yoongi and Taehyung looked at each other. They eventually decided Jimin would go with Yoongi as Taehyung was living with Jungkook while Yoongi had his own apartment. Yoongi checked with Jimin that he was okay with coming home with him, and he shyly nodded. Two hours later after a lot of struggling and manoeuvring and a nerve racking drive home, Jimin found himself laying Yoongi's bathtub.


	2. Bathroom Mishaps

The sun had set by the time Yoongi arrived at his apartment, thanking whatever gods were listening that his complex had an elevator as well as stairs. He was also grateful they didn't encounter any of the other residents as they surely would have raised an eyebrow at the sight before them. Jimin sat in a supermarket trolley with a large blanket draped over his tail and around his chest. After a lot of brainstorming, surprisingly it was Taehyung who had come up with the idea to push Jimin around in a trolley. When they reached Yoongi's small apartment, he awkwardly unlocked the door and pushed Jimin in.

"I know it's not huge or glamorous or anything, but its home. I hope you don't mind staying in a bathtub for a couple of days." Yoongi looked at the merman, Jimin was looking around the room in wonderment. When he noticed Yoongi staring at him a red flush covered his rosy cheeks and ears. "I've never seen anything like this before it's so amazing. I always wanted to venture close to the shore to see what all the fuss is about. Sometimes I saw boats but only in the distance because..." Jimin clamped his mouth shut and looked down at the soft white carpet covering the floorboards. He had started rambling again, he tended to talk excessively whenever her got nervous or embarrassed.

"Umm, well I guess I should run the bath so you have somewhere slightly more comfortable to sit."

"Thank You."

Yoongi walked into his bathroom and began to fill the bathtub. It wasn't huge but Jimin would probably fit he was pretty small after all. As water poured into the white tub he looked at his reflection in the mirror. He looked exhausted. What the hell was he doing, looking after a merman. Jimin was an incredible discovery and Yoongi understood that if some of the greedier scientist got wind of his discovery he would end up on an operating table and then stuffed in a museum. He understood that but why his place. He was bad enough at communicating with other scientists and acquaintances and now he was expected to babysit this man who he didn't know and wasn't even human. He sighed and turned the tap off, he couldn't back out now he had promised Namjoon to look after him.

"Hey Jimin" he called "Do you need salt in the water?" He had assumed that he would have to so he bought a bag of salt from the lab back with him, but figured it best to double check with Jimin.

"If that's not too much trouble, I'm sorry for inconveniencing you like this Yoongi-ssi."

"Drop the honorifics, just call me Yoongi, hyung or whatever."

"Okay, thanks hyung."

Yoongi blushed at Jimins words. He felt a warmth spread throughout his chest. He grabbed the bag of salt off the bench, shooting the tailed man a small smile as he past. It was returned with a huge smile that stretched all the way up to his eyes turning them into crescents. He couldn't help but notice the way Jimins face lit up when he smiled. He looked like an angel, albeit a fishtailed one. He knew his bathtub held about 80 litres when full and that to recreate an ocean like environment it required around 35 grams of salt per litre. Okay so 35 times 80 was 2,800, he needed 2.8 kilos of salt. Thank fuck he thought ahead.

Once he had finished dissolving the salt, he proceeded to push Jimin into the bathroom. Right this was going to be awkward, he would have to lift Jimin out of the cart and lower him into the tub. This would be quite the feat considering Yoongi really wasn't that much taller than Jimin and he was never the strongest or most athletic person. "Sorry I'm going to have to lift you out." Jimin shifted in the cart so most of his tail was hanging out as much at it could. Yoongi slipped his arms underneath Jimins' arms, slowly lifting him up and over the edge of the trolley. Jimin wrapped his arms around Yoongi's neck clinging on in fear. He wasn't used to this strange feeling of weightlessness around him without the comforting presence of water blanketing over him. Yoongi manoeuvred the two of them so Jimin was pressed flush against his chest. He decided it would be easiest to slowly lower both of them, so he could sit on the edge of bath and then swivel Jimin around into the water. He slowly began to lower himself onto the edge, gradually taking on more of the merman's weight as he leaned into Yoongi, arms still around his neck. When Jimin completely left the trolley, he jolted forward a little. Yoongi felt himself drop to the edge of the bath, except he was leaning too far back and the momentum of Jimin leaning onto him caused him to fall back into the bathtub, pulling Jimin down with him.

A sickening crack resonated throughout the bathroom and red began to swirl in the bathwater. Yoongi felt a sharp pain as the back of his head connected with the rim. His head slowly slipped further and further until it was almost beneath the surface. He could see Jimin on top of him, hands cradling his head lifting it above the water. He looked to Jimin, still held in his arms, and realised that he wouldn't mind getting used to this. Slowly everything started turning hazy and an inky blackness was creeping in from the corner of his eyes. The last thing he saw was a beautiful silver-haired angel with puffy eyes talking but he couldn't hear what was being said.

As soon as Jimin heard the crack and saw the blood he knew something was very wrong. He panicked. He was never good in situations of pressure and knew nothing about human medicines. As he saw Yoongi's head slip under he knew he had to do something. Jimin lifted his head back into the air and flipped them around so Yoongi was floating on top of him. He pushed Yoongi out of the tub and onto the bath mat, rolling him onto his back. Jimin knew he had to get help for the unconscious man but he had no idea how. He knew very little about human technology and there was no way he would be able to drag himself to find help. Not to mention what he feared may happen if anyone saw him. He hovered over Yoongi. He looked so pale and small, lying their soaking wet, eyes shut. He was breathing but it looked to be shallow as far as Jimin could tell. He decided he had to do something. He wasn't about to let him die. He started to drag his tail along the floor as he made his way into the central room of the apartment looking for something that could help.

After about 20 minutes of dragging his body on the floor looking for something and checking on Yoongi to make sure he was breathing a ringing sound startled him. It was emanating from a bag that Yoongi had dropped by the table earlier. He opened the bag and found a large silver rectangle brightly lit displaying the name _Hoseok._ He had no idea what to do, it was still ringing and it was beginning to hurt his head. His fingers brushed past the bright green circle and he could hear a voice start talking from the device.

"Help! Please, Yoongi is hurt and I don't know what to do. Please come quickly he needs help."

Jimin was spluttering and crying into the silver device, and after a moment of silence the voice on the other end replied.

"I'll be right over."


	3. Pandemonium

Jimin waited on the towels next to Yoongi. He was relieved that someone was going to be able to help him, but he was also anxious. What was going to happen when this _Hoseok_ found him. would he have to go somewhere else, would he be sent to another lab with mean people or even worse! What if he got sold to a fish market. He shook his head, now was not the time to be concerned about himself. Yoongi was lying motionless on the floor because he was trying to help Jimin. Tears started to pool in the corners of his eyes. This was all his fault, why did he have to be a nuisance and cause problems for everyone. The reason he got caught up in the fishing wire in the first place was because he had ventured too close to the surface during a rough storm. He loved the inky black and dark, cloudy blue the sky turned, and how magnificent it looked when lightning flashed, illuminating the sky. He had long observed storms and sunsets from far below the surface, cautioned by the words of his older brother. "Jiminie, its dangerous to go close, the humans up there they see you and they will take you away from us. You'll be lost from the sea forever." Jin had really scared him that day. He had drifted too close to the shore chasing the last rays of the sun and hadn't noticed until his brother called him back. He knew Jin was probably extremely worried but he couldn't return to the sea, not yet.

"Hey! Hey! Yoongi! Are you home, I'm coming in."

The voice snapped Jimin out of his reverie. "Please help him," Jimin bawled, "Where in the bathroom." Suddenly, a man who looked to be about Yoongi's age came rushing in. He had orange hair and lightly tanned skin. As soon as he reached the doorway he paused and his eyes widened in shock. "What, Oh my gosh, tail, What." Hoseok was shocked. No, he was beyond shock. His body had gone into instant paralysis as he stared at the fish tailed boy crying on his best friend's apartment floor. Then he saw the bathtub and Yoongi. The bathwater had turned a pinkish colour from what he assumed was blood coming from the black-haired man. He looked in paler then normal almost corpse like. Hoseok jumped into action. Mystery mermaid boy was going to have to wait until he was sure Yoongi was going to be okay. Hoseok inspected the back of his head. The bleeding had slowed down and the blood had started to coagulate and it was warm and sticky on his hand as he pushed the hair at the nape of his neck to the side. He couldn't tell how deep it was with all the blood and hair obscuring it but he couldn't see bone so he guessed that was probably a good thing. "Alright, I am going to call an ambulance. I don't know how deep that cut is and he could have spinal damage so I don't want to have to move him. I have no idea who you are, but obviously Yoongi bought you here for a reason and I'm going to have to move you to the bedroom because I have a feeling its best if you hide." Hoseok could see how scared the other was and flashed him a reassuring smile before calling 119. He told the operator his friend had slipped and had called him before he lost consciousness. Jimin was brushing stands of black hair of Yoongis forehead. He looked up at Hoseok.

"The ambulance is on its way, he'll be okay." Jimin sighed in relief. He would be okay, he would be fine. "What's your name? I'm Hoseok by the way."

"My names Jimin, Yoongis friend Namjoon-ssi saved me and bought me back to the lab."

"Why am I not surprised, we can talk more later but for now I'm going to carry into the bedroom okay and you are going to have to stay silent alright."

Hoseok scooped him up bridal style and carefully made his way to the bedroom across from the bathroom. He was surprised by how light Jimin was and how small he looked. After Hoseok Placed Jimin in the bedroom and was waiting for the paramedics he had time to process the new information properly. Mer-people existed and Yoongi was apparently acquaintances with the small boy.

The paramedics came in and in disturbingly calm voices asked where the man in need of medical attention was. Hoseok directed them to where Yoongi lay and they got to work checking vitals and then carefully lifting him onto a stretcher. Hoseok waited till they had left before going to tell Jimin he was off to the hospital that he would call Taehyung and Namjoon to tell them what had happened and one of them would probably come over. Jimin nodded eyes glued to the floor. He felt so guilty. Everybody would surely hate him now. He hadn't even been here a day and had already hurt someone. He wished he could be wrapped up in the arms of his brother while he whispered comforting words and promised to make all his favourite foods.

About half an hour later a knock resounded through the apartment. "Jimin its Taehyung, Hoseok told me what happened. I'm coming in okay." Hoseok had stopped by his shared apartment and given him the spare key as he was closer to Yoongis place than Namjoon. Taehyung found Jimin curled up in the corner trapped in fitful sleep. The first thing Taehyung noticed was how dry and cracked Jimin's tail had become. He had to get him to water, cracks were starting to form and it looked extremely painful. He went in the bathroom and immediately turned around. Blood stained the floor and the pink bathwater still sat in the tub. He decided he would do the next best thing and gathered up sponges and tea towels then filled the largest saucepan with water and went to sit with Jimin. He carefully shook him awake. Jimin flinched in terror and wildly looking around before slowly remembering where he was. Tears leaked from his eyes rolling down his cheeks. He couldn't help he had always been one to cry in scary and stressful situations. Taehyung cooed at him and took the face in his hands and began to wipe away the tears. "Don't cry Jiminie, everything's going to be okay, taetae is here." Jimin looked up at Taehyung and cried into his shoulder as the younger hugged him.

"Yoongi hyung is going to be okay, the doctors told Hoseok the cut wasn't too deep and there shouldn't be any lasting trauma. Everything's going to be okay Jiminie."


	4. Psychic Powers

Jimin slowly calmed down, his sobs turning to small sniffles as he relaxed in Taehyungs arms. Taehyung was stroking his hair and muttering comforting words to him. He looked at the alarm clock glowing from the nightstand, it had just gone past 4 AM. Jimin stopped sniffling and looked up at Taehyung, eyes puffy wide and glossy, "Sorry, I think I just ruined your shirt."

Taehyung just laughed and told him not to worry. Taehyung wet the towels and began laying them over Jimin's tail. Jimin hissed at the contact, the material feeling wet against his dry scales. As the water began to seep into his skin he instantly felt better. "I think all that crying really dehydrated you. Hey, have you ever played with an Xbox?" Taehyung spent the next few hours teaching Jimin how to use Yoongi's Xbox. He was pretty sure Yoongi would kill him for touching his stuff, he hated anyone messing with his belongings at the laboratory let alone his precious gaming console. The look of amusement on Jimin's face was worth possible death though. He had put in GTA and surprisingly the sweet and innocent looking boy was really getting into it. After a couple of hours of the two of them messing around and flinging insults at each other Taehyungs phone vibrated on the floor next to him. "Namjoon is going to be coming over soon, he's been at the hospital." Jimin nodded solemnly.

When Namjoon finally arrived Taehyung and Jimin were sitting on the floor backs resting against the couch, wet towels covering Jimin's lower half. "He's going to kill you Tae." Taehyung just flashed him a boxy grin. "So, How's Yoongi, what did the doctors say."

"He is going to be fine he woke up not long after arriving in the ER. The doctors said he had a concussion and that the cut on the back of his head is a superficial wound that only required a few stitches. He should be out tomorrow, they want to keep him for observations today."

Jimin was relieved, Yoongi would be okay, everything would be fine. "See Jimin what did I tell you, everything's fine. I used my magical psychic powers to predict it."

"You can use magic, that's so cool, I'm jealous."

Namjoon rolled his eyes, "The only magical thing Taehyungs ever done is somehow landing this job."

"Ouch Hyung that hurts, you've destroyed my heart, I shall never recover. This is the tragic end to Kim Taehyung." Taehyung dramatically dropped to the floor. Jimin started giggling and soon Taehyung joined in. Namjoon was doing a poor attempted at hiding his amusement.

Namjoon had some other news as well. He had been thinking about the logistics of building somewhere for Jimin to stay in his hose and realised it probably wasn't going to work. With people coming over to talk to him about his research and funding as well as his other business ventures could be a problem. Fortunately, a solution had come to him in the form of an add as he was flicking through a newspaper. There were a couple of warehouse type buildings for sale on the edge of the ocean near one of Busan's many busy ports. There were some relatively nice ones as well, not the cold damp tin shed kind but decent buildings. Namjoon was well off so money was no issue for him. He contacted the man selling them and told him a story about wanting to use it for his boats, a believable story, and made the purchase without any hassles. Namjoon sent the rest of the day hauling the necessary equipment from the lab to the warehouse. He got a few strangle looks rushing in and out of the building, stopping only to make sure everyone was up to date with all their assessments and research data collections. Namjoon was head of the lab so everybody was used to him uncoordinatedly running around, rushing off to various projects. They learnt it was easier to wait for him to come back and explain his findings than to question him. Yoongi had suggested getting one of the large above ground plastic pools for Jimin, as it would provide more space and would be significantly more discreet than trying to drag a glass aquarium or tank.

Yoongi was becoming increasingly irritable as the hours ticked by. He didn't see why he had to stay in hospital. He was awake now and his head didn't even hurt that much anymore but that could just be the painkillers. Hoseok and Namjoon had been in to see him. Hoseok came in the morning before he had to go the studio to teach toddler dance. Hoseok had explained to him how he got to the hospital. Then he got quite and a serious expression graced his face. "Yoongi, Jimin is… Jimin is real, right? I wasn't hallucinating or anything, there is actually a mermaid living in your bathroom?"

"Temporarily."

"What?"

"He's living in my bathroom temporarily. Hoseok this is important okay, you can't tell anyone about Jimin. I know you hate keeping secrets but please, for Jimin and for me."

Hoseok new this was important if Yoongi was actually begging him. He was also a tad offended. Yoongi had known him for what? 15 years and he thought Hoseok might talk. He trusted Yoongi and would keep any secrets he was told and he knew the other man would do the same for him. A few hours after he had left Namjoon stopped in briefly to update Yoongi on the progress of the warehouse now dubbed Jimin's home away from home. When Namjoon left he offered to send Taehyung over but Yoongi fiercely shook his head. He was miserable enough in hospital without having to deal with an excitable oversized puppy. While he was waiting to be discharged he did a lot of thinking. Mostly about Jimin. He was glad to have this opportunity to not only study but interact with a species long thought to be nothing but old sailor's tales. He was drawn to Jimin. His eyes, a deep brown drew Yoongi in. They swirled with emotion and he could get lost in them forever. Yoongi was happy Jimin decided to remain on land, but that raised the question of why? They had asked him time and time again if he was sure he was okay staying in Busan with them, and that he was sure he didn't want Namjoon to just return him to the sea but he always declined with a small shake of his head.

Several kilometres out to sea a merman with a pale pink tail and matching hair was becoming overwhelmingly worried. Jin hadn't seen Jimin in two days now, not since he saw a boat take his younger brother up to the surface. When Jimin hadn't returned to their home he had gone out looking for him. He knew how much Jimin liked to swim close to the surface especially during storms. The water was becoming increasingly more turbulent and he had to use all his strength to swim against the currents. After half an hour of frantic searching and screaming into the deep blue, Jin spotted a large shadow. A boat. In the shadow of the boat he saw the body of his brother, wrapped up in what appeared to be line the humans used to catch fish. Tears sprang to his eyes and he began to swim cautiously towards the boat. A sudden splash caused him to dart behind a rock formation. Someone had entered the water. He was dressed in all black with a mask covering most of his face attached to large cylinders strapped to his back. He wrapped his arms around Jimin and Jin darted forward, ready to defend his brother and save him from this human, but it was too late. The figure had already started his ascent to the surface, Jimin with him.

Jin was stressed and worried. Anything could have happened to Jimin. He had heard the stories passed down from the old times, when the mer population was larger and more carefree. Eyes had been cut out as the sailors believed they could see the future, tails cut off to become art and worst of all stories of mermaids being captured and locked up and tortured for entertainment. Jimin didn't deserve any of that. He was a kind loving boy, always looking for the best in everybody. He was the last person who deserved pain. Jin was disappointed in himself. He was the eldest and it was his job to look after Jimin. He had promised their parents he would watch over him before they passed away from a disease that had been spreading from a land fill seeping into the ocean Many people had died that year and it made an enormous impact on everyone. Since then he had vowed to look after the most precious thing in his life and now he had failed. He wasn't just going to curl up and cry, he was going to get his brother back from the evil humans. Jin formulated a plan of sorts. He had gone through all the options he could think of and in the end, there was only really one that could work. It was risky, everything could go wrong and Jin's life would be ruined but he couldn't just sit back and abandoned his brother. He packed up all the gold and gemstones he could find and placed them in a small leather pouch along with a small dagger and set off towards the kelp forest.


	5. Mermaid Magic

Jin made his way through the forest of kelp. He couldn't see any of the sunlight filtering through the water, he hated having to swim through it, the feeling of kelp caressing his skin and scales was unpleasant and quite unsettling. He steeled himself and pushed through, he had to be brave for Jimin. Finally, he broke through the thick forest, revelling in the sunlight that bathed him. He would have to leave the sun once again and travel deep into a cavernous ravine. The ravine was still several hours travel away and the sun was no longer in centre of the sky, it was slowly dipping towards the ocean becoming burnt orange in colour. Jin wanted to get there before sundown so he sped up, straining his body swimming as fast as he could. He didn't often come out to the stretch of ocean just past the forests. There were so many other nice and sunny places to explore, plus he was busy taking care of the young mer children while their parents were away at work.

Corals of all different colours were climbing up the sides of the cliffs and small brightly scaled fish were darting in and out of them in a playful manner. With the orange of the sun creating a glowing aura around the reef, it really looked beautiful. Jin had always been a man who appreciated beauty and he sorely wished he could stop and admire the scene. Still, he swam on, he wasn't going to let himself get distracted, he was almost there now. Finally, he reached the edge of the ravine and steeled himself, taking one last look at the soft orange glow before taking the plunge into the abyss. The darkness was overwhelming at first and his heart raced as panic set in. The loss of sight was terrifying. After a minute is eyes naturally adjusted and he surveyed the scene. Caves were spotted along the ravine walls; some so deep Jin couldn't even begin to make out an end. The cave he was looking for was situated close to the ocean floor and was home to several extraordinarily powerful enchanters known for their magic and curses. As Jin swam deeper, a faint blue glow flickered into his vision. He followed the glowing light drawing closer to the source. The light was emitting from a large cavern and Jin sucked in a deep breath, this was it he was going to get his baby brother back.

"You may enter lost soul."

"Really Jackson, that's what you're going with, lost soul. That's so lame."

"Well you think of something better then."

Jin blinked. Two young looking men were lurking near the back of the cave. The one closest to Jin was straightened out to his full height looking imposing and mysterious, the other in stark contrast was doubled over trying to conceal what he assumed were giggles. The mysterious mer moved into the light and glimmering gold markings immediately caught Jin's eye. They swirled up the man's inky tail and came to a stop as the scales tapered off into skin. He could see the magic flowing through them, wild and dangerous. A smile slowly graced the other mers face. "Whoa, dude chill. I'm not that scary am I." Jin knew he was staring at the stranger but he was unsure of how to proceed. Should he just ask straight up what he wanted or was there some kind of triage process. There didn't seem to be much else in this part of the cave so he chose to wait until one of them asked.

"So, I'm Jackson and my buddy sniggering in the corner over there is Bambam. Just ignore him he'll go away eventually." Bambam threw Jackson a look of mock pain and sadness. "I assume you know what we are and didn't just happen to stumble upon our shopfront. What can we do for you?"

"I need legs. I mean, I need you to give me legs, turn me human."

A look of pity washed over Jacksons face as he thought over Jin's request. "Look I'm going to tell you straight up; no human is worth giving up your tail okay. Did you not hear the story of that mermaid who tried to do it years ago? She ended up floating about as seafoam." Jin scoffed. He would never give up his tail for a mere human. He wasn't doing this for himself it was for Jimin, his adorable, kind hearted brother who would never survive up there. Tears ran down his cheeks as he explained the situation and pleaded with them. "I'll give you anything okay. I just need him safe, home where he belongs." Bambam sighed from the corner

"Look as much as we would like to give you the ability to walk the land in search of your brother we aren't allowed to do that anymore. After that mermaid ended up dead reforms and laws were created by the Grand Council of Sea Witches, we no longer have the magic capabilities to perform that transformation." Jin began to cry, not caring that he looked a mess in front of these two strangers. How was he supposed to save Jimin now, he would be lost forever. He could be suffering up there, put on display, kept in an enclosed area for all to marvel at. Jimin must be so scared, he was failing as a Hyung, he had always promised to protect him and now he lost far out of his reach. "Is there anything you can do please help, I-I just want to make sure he's okay. Please, there's got to be something you can do."

Jackson glanced over to Bambam before he slowly started to address a very distressed Jin. "There is something we can do. It can't help you physically get your brother or communicate with him but it can show him to you," Jackson paused looking Jin in the eyes, "but this is a double-edged sword. You can see your brother but no matter what you see you cannot help him."

"Whatever it is I want it, I want to see him even if it's just once."

Jackson nodded and left the cavern, swimming deeper into the cave network. He returned shortly carrying a gold hand-held mirror and handed it over to Jin. "Think of your brother and look into the mirror. You will see him, but he cannot see you and you can't hear him. Sorry it's not much but it's the best we've got." Jin thought of his chubby cheeks and sweet smile and stared at his reflection in the crystalline mirror. Slowly clouds began to swirl clouding his reflection and slowly revealing a picture. It was Jimin, his precious baby brother. He was lying in a large tub of sorts. Jin had been told about the large buckets that humans used to wash themselves in and supposed this was similar. He watched as his brother looked over to the other side of the room and he watched as tears began to form on his face. Jin looked on in worry. Was he in pain? "Oh Jimin" he whispered softly. He looked up to see Jackson and Bambam smiling at him sadly. "Thank you, really, what do I owe you." He reached into his pouch to bring out the Jewels but was quickly waved off. "Don't worry about it, happy to help." Jackson nodded and told him not to worry.

He returned his gaze to the mirror. Another figure had entered the glass picture. A human. He watched as Jimin started crying, face becoming increasingly red. He repeatedly bowed his head he appeared to be apologizing. Jin wished he could cradle him in his arms and tell him everything would be fine. As the human slowly approached his brother his muscles tensed. He didn't think he could watch anything bad happen. The pale human had white strips of fabric wrapped around his head, a stark contrast to his coal coloured hair. The human knelt next to his brother and his lips moved no doubt talking to his brother. He couldn't work out what was being said but watched on as his brother's sobs turned into small sniffles. Jimin reached out a hand and tentatively touched the white fabric around the black-haired man's head and proceeded to slowly trace them from ear to ear. Jimin lifted himself a little higher out of the water and he watched as Jimin slowly kissed the man on the forehead. Jin smiled sadly, he used to do that for Jimin whenever he hurt himself. He watched as both the Human and Jimin's cheeks flushed red.


	6. Bathtub Bonding

Yoongi was out of the hospital but by god did he have a pounding headache. He had been sent home with a few weeks' worth of painkillers and instructions not to do anything taxing. Walking up the stairs to his apartment he was terrified at what he would find. He did not trust Taehyung one bit, if he was being completely honest he was sure his unit would be completely trashed. Hoseok, currently his taxi as he was pretty much banned from driving, placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder and made a grim face as Yoongi opened his door. There were take-out containers left piled on the countertop, courtesy of Taehyung he assumed. "Jimin, Taehyung" he cautiously called, out not hearing any noise from his flat. "In the bathroom hyung" Jimin called out softly.

"Hyung I've got to head back to the studio to teach soon, do you think you'll be okay or do you want me to stay? I can try and get Taemin to cover for me."

"Nah I'll be fine. Thanks though."

"Okay, if you're sure. But I'll be back later anyway to check on you, but more importantly you have to properly introduce me to your new friend."

Yoongi nodded and waved Hoseok goodbye, before making his way to the bathroom frowning at how quite it was. He entered the small bathroom and Jimin was lying in the tub tail flopping over the edge. He burst into tears upon seeing Yoongi, stuttering out apologies as tears rolled down his cheeks, gills fluttering with each sob. Yoongi flinched, startled by the sudden outburst of tears. He had no idea how to calm the merman down, he had never been good at comforting his friends let alone this merman he barely knew. As the sobs turned to wails he realised he had to do something and quickly, he knelt down next to the bath tub and mustered the most soothing tone he could. "Jimin, Jimin, don't worry I'm okay, everything's fine." After another bout of garbled apologies, he continued. "It's alright Jimin, it wasn't your fault it was an accident, you can't blame yourself." He really didn't want Jimin to blame himself for what had happened, that wasn't fair. Slowly Jimin quieted down only letting out small sniffles as he looked up at Yoongi from behind his silver fringe, eyes puffy and red. "Really Jimin I'm fine, here you can touch the bandages if you want." Jimin slowly lifted his hand and tentatively traced his fingers along the bandages. Then he slowly leaned forward and gently kissed the top of his head. Yoongi turned bright red, eyes wide open in shock, heart beating wildly. "My brother used to do that when I got hurt, he said it would help any heal any wound," he shyly explained cheeks also slightly flushed but nowhere near the tomato that was yoongi's face. Yoongi tried to find something to say but found his mind blank and throat dry. After trying to stutter a response he finally asked "So… uh… where did Taehyung go?" Jimin pointed towards his bedroom across from them. "He still asleep, we were awake all night, I even met his roommate Jungkook."

Yoongi was pissed to say the least. He knew Taehyung could be somewhat of an airhead at times but did he really forget that Jimin's entire existence was supposed to be a secret. He personally had met Jungkook a couple of times and had nothing against him personally but Taehyung definitely should have discussed it with both himself and Namjoon. Yoongi stormed over to his room leaving a bewildered Jimin wondering if he had done something wrong. He flung open the bedroom door and a very tired Taehyung sat up rubbing at his eyes, "Dude do you have to be so loud, I'm tired as hell." Yoongi just glared at him. "You had to watch merboy for one night and you decided to tell Jungkook about him. You do realise he isn't meant to exist and it's a secret that he is living here, you know what will happen if people start to find out about him." Taehyung looked shocked at being woken up and immediately yelled at. Taehyung was slightly offended Yoongi thought he was that stupid and that Jungkook was untrustworthy. Jungkook had been his roommate and best friend since his first year of university and even though they had university and had different career paths, Jungkook in sport science, they still lived together. He thought it would be good for Jimin to meet someone else to hang out with and he trusted Jungkook with his life. "Come on you know I wouldn't do anything that could potentially hurt Jimin, I just thought it would be good for him to meet someone else. I mean what's going to happen when we all must go back to the lab or out on an expedition somewhere. Jungkook could come and hang out with him so he's not lonely and you know I trust Kookie more than anyone else in my life."

Yoongi couldn't stay mad at him, he really had the best intentions in his heart. Jungkook seemed trustworthy enough and it would be good for Jimin to have other people to talk to who were better conversationalists than he was and not as obnoxiously loud as Taehyung. He sighed and left Taehyung to go back to sleep even though it was already midday. Jimin was flicking water up with his tail and watching the droplets roll towards his torso. He was so entranced in watching the water run down his tail he failed to notice the other man's entrance. When he looked up and saw Yoongi standing next to the sink he yelped in surprise and flicked the water off his tail. Several of the droplets landed on Yoongi and the mirror behind him. Jimin giggled out a 'sorry' as Yoongi huffed and wiped his face dry with the sleeve of his hoodie. He sat on the bathmat next to the boy and looked up at him. He really was beautiful with his almond eyes and pale skin. His cheeks were slightly chubby which made him look all the more cute. Yoongi silently berated himself for thinking that and addressed the merboy. "I hope you don't mind staying here a little longer, I know its uncomfortable but we should be able to move you to somewhere bigger tomorrow." Namjoon had informed him about the plan via text and he agreed that it would definitely be better than a cramped bathtub. The warehouse would provide a much better space to set up a small lab and run some tests.

He felt bad for thinking of Jimin as a test subject or simply another animal to research. He thought about how much he must miss his own home and family and how scared he was right now. Yoongi couldn't imagine being taken to a strange land with people he didn't know. "If anything that we do makes you uncomfortable you let us know okay. You shouldn't be up here on land for too long, hopefully we can take you back to the ocean shortly." Yoongi smiled in a way that he prayed was reassuring. He frowned when he noticed the scared look on the others face and the way he was shrinking back into him-self. He reached out and pet his silver hair softly. He had no idea what possessed him to but the merman appeared to find it comforting, relaxing a little. "I don't really want to go back to the ocean" The silver haired mer softly voiced. "Not yet anyway."

"Alright, you don't have to go back right away but did something happen. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

Jimin considered it, he was still a little scared of the human and wasn't sure about telling him what happened. If he spoke about it at home he would surely get in trouble if anyone found out. But he wasn't at home he told himself and Yoongi had only been nice to him so far even though he got hurt because of him. Maybe if he told him about his situation he would understand and let him stay. Plus, he almost looked cute when he smiled.


End file.
